Getty Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo poses for a photo during his team's 2022 media day.
The Miami Heat were back on the court at FTX Arena on Monday for a preseason bout with the upstart Houston Rockets. And while youngsters Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Tari Eason combined to drop 63 points, 23 boards and 11 dimes on the South Beach Crew, it was the home team that prevailed, 118-110.
After a pair of ho-hum exhibition showings from the baller, the (Max) Strus was definitely on the loose against the Rockets. In 24 minutes of play, he scored a team-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting while sinking five three-point bombs.
Meanwhile, Miami’s youth contingent acquitted itself well, too, picking up the slack with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and the rest of the starters sitting.
As good as Strus — and the team as a whole — was in the contest, though, the story of the night was arguably two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo, who made his preseason debut after being held out of the club’s first three tune-up games.
Oladipo Returns to the Fold, Spoelstra Comments
After not having seen the hardwood since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Oladipo started and played 20 minutes for the Heat against his former team. Along the way, he scored eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and added four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
When asked about Oladipo’s debut performance after the game, though, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was measured in his response. As he sees it, the comeback was simply the latest step in a process that’s still unfolding.
“He’s been pushing to get out there,” Spoelstra said of Oladipo, via the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “But I think the time was appropriate and I think the plan was appropriate coming out of training camp, and we’ll just build from there.”
Given Oladipo’s injury history, Spoelstra’s take is hardly surprising. Had it been up to the player, however, the “appropriate time” probably would have been Miami’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
However, Oladipo has also come to understand the team’s cautious approach to reintegrating him, and he’s doing his best to embrace it.
“It takes time for the body to adapt and heal and everything like that. I’m coming off injury, so I’ve got to save myself from myself sometimes,” Oladipo said recently, via the Sun Sentinel.
Oladipo Should Play a Significant Role in 2022-23
No one really knew what to expect once Oladipo returned from his latest quad surgery in March. And even when he was finally back in the fold, his production varied wildly from game to game in the early going.
However, his 40-point outburst in Game No. 82 of the campaign against the Orlando Magic proved that he still has a lot to offer on the court. And the baller went on to play in the Heat’s final 15 playoff games, logging heavy minutes along the way.
He performed so well, in fact, that the Heat saw fit to sign him to a one-year, $11 million contract, a deal that was eventually restructured to two years and $18.2 million (with a player option in year two). So, clearly, there’s an expectation that he’ll continue to play a significant role for Coach Spo going forward.
What exactly that role will be remains to be seen. It’s worth noting, though, that ‘Dipo started Monday’s game alongside Gabe Vincent, who solidified himself as Kyle Lowry’s backup last season. If those two can coexist in the second unit, it will make it that much easier for Spoelstra to keep Herro — last year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year — with the starters.